Greater Pewee

About the Greater Pewee

The greater pewee (Contopus pertinax), formerly known as Coues's flycatcher, is a passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found from Arizona and New Mexico to Nicaragua. The greater pewee has two subspecies, the nominate C. p. pertinax (Cabanis & Heine, 1860) and C. p. minor (Miller, W & Griscom, 1925). The greater pewee, dark pewee (C. lugubris) and smoke-colored pewee (C. fumigatus) form a superspecies.

The greater pewee is 18 to 20 cm (7.1 to 7.9 in) long and weighs about 22 to 36 g (0.78 to 1.3 oz). The sexes have the same plumage with a spiky crest. Subspecies C. p. minor is smaller than the nominate but has essentially the same plumage. Adults have a plain olive-gray head and upperparts, with pale lores and a slightly lighter face than the rest of the head. Their wings are dusky grayish brown with grayish olive ends on the coverts that show as two faint wing bars. They have pale grayish edges on their secondaries. Their tail is dusky grayish brown. Their chin is dull whitish and their throat and sides are olive-gray with a buffy yellowish tinge. The center of their breast, their belly, and their undertail... Wikipedia →